Chapter 665: Underground Auction

Cultivation knows no years.

Over three years, Jiang Ding simply cultivated as usual to accumulate magic power, attended classes to increase his foundation in the Dao, and followed Yuan to learn techniques of the Nascent Soul realm, preparing for the future.

Besides this,

the forging of the Taqing Flying Sword had not stopped; he could now forge the sword while cultivating, with neither interfering with the other.

This was the sword of his Dao foundation.

Even if the efficiency was relatively slow, even if he lacked secret arts, even if reaching the peak of the Infant Treasure realm would take over five hundred years, he could not stop his steps forward and entrust everything to the future.

He must walk this path no matter what, no matter what happened.

However, the slow forging of the flying sword was not without benefits; it saved money.

Originally, it was estimated that a single year would cost seven hundred million low-grade spirit stones just for the Taqing Flying Sword, equivalent to purchasing Synthetic Synthetic Gengjin, a tier-four supreme material, once a year.

Now, three years would not even cost that much.

The finances, originally expected to be bankrupt, could now last for several decades, which was a blessing in disguise.

Although he did not want this kind of saving and thrift.

For him, spending a lot of money was never a problem.

He could take out loans, collect from kind-hearted people, or lay out plans to have the Master Tushan Maidservant Group control more territory; all of these could solve the issue.

Only cultivation could not be delayed.

Tens of thousands of li away from the Great Sun Sword City.

Jiang Ding awoke from standby mode.

There were no accidents; nothing would happen to someone buried deep underground with concealment magic so excellent.

Even coincidence would be useless; do not even think about it.

He was not dead; he could leave early. No cause-and-effect, grudge, love-hate, or parting could touch him without his permission.

"Three years passed very quickly..."

Jiang Ding took out a paper-like invitation from his storage jade pendant.

There was no reaction.

Was it broken?

Jiang Ding was stunned.

"Oh!"

After thinking for a moment, he suddenly realized, released the concealment around him, and opened a channel.

The tier-three supreme electromagnetic magic technique "Magnetic Concealment Art" did not just conceal the body and aura; it could also block information, divine sense transmissions, and cut off all communication between inside and outside.

Buzz!

The invitation trembled, received some transmission from the outside, and lines of text appeared on it, spreading like tiny snakes.

"Great Sun Sword City, Gray Dust Street, Rotten Wooden House..."

Jiang Ding put away the invitation, concealed himself again, and flew toward the distance.

Not long after, he re-entered the Sword City.

Jiang Ding followed the crowd, took out a cloak attached with concealment magic, put it on his head, wandered around the city, and arrived at a slightly dilapidated district.

The Great Sun Sword City did not have the exaggerated slums under General General Heishi's rule that sought to destroy the self-esteem of cultivators, but similar places were still common.

Those coming and going were mostly Qi Refining cultivators, engaging daily in low-paying jobs such as alchemy apprentices, laborers, spirit farmers, and sword practice sparring partners.

Gangs, extortion of protection fees, chaotic security leading to robberies, prostitution, and demonic cultivators secretly seeking corpses and souls—none were missing; it was complete.

Survival of the fittest; the weak have original sin.

Upon entering here, his divine sense swept over, and three robberies by bandit cultivators were happening nearby simultaneously; one was a home invasion, a demonic cultivator was refining a zombie, and twenty-nine cultivators were stealing or setting up honey traps.

"The suffering of all beings..."

Jiang Ding sighed slightly.

In his concealed state, he did nothing; he was long accustomed to it.

His divine sense range was too large; in a city of dozens of kilometers, things happened constantly, and it was completely unrealistic to manage every single one.

These things existed constantly, just like breathing.

Without the ability to lead order, they could not be cut off; once removed, they would arise again, endless and without end.

Facing this situation,

he only acted as a hero when he needed to; he had no more strength to do more, as it would increase the possibility of exposure.

He did not ask anyone for directions; his divine sense swept over, he walked dozens of steps, and arrived before a rotten wooden house that had not been repaired for years.

Inside lived a Qi Refining cultivator couple, who knew nothing of his arrival.

Jiang Ding looked around; no Jin Dan or Foundation Establishment cultivators were accompanying him.

"There must be multiple entrances, distributed according to the invitations, connected by teleportation arrays."

"The secrecy is handled well enough."

He activated the invitation.

Buzz!

The invitation shot out a wisp of spiritual light, landing on the rotten wooden house; instantly, the environment changed, and a small teleportation array appeared before Jiang Ding.

Jiang Ding swept his divine sense over and judged that this was a micro teleportation array within a range of one hundred kilometers.

However, it was still very dangerous.

If someone set the destination to a dead end, one would be dead with no chance of survival in an instant.

If his physical body were here, he would not enter any unfamiliar teleportation array; he trusted no faction's guarantee, preferring to walk there himself or simply give up the goal.

After all, there is still plenty of time and opportunity ahead.

Even if there isn't, he could not take risks; surviving safely is the greatest opportunity.

"That old geezer,"

"Sigh, I truly have a destiny born for hard labor..."

Jiang Ding sighed, performed a brief check, walked into the teleportation array, and activated it.

Bai Chong Guang flickered, and space shifted.

Jiang Ding felt no discomfort; such a level of spatial shift failed to affect him.

Looking around,

this was a vast, dim underground space, shaped like an inverted bowl, with a stone platform at its center.

Higher up, there remained individual private chambers, each containing independent spatial arrays, escape arrays, and concealment arrays.

Cultivators appeared one after another; most concealed their appearance and aura with spells, while very few did so openly.

The only commonality was that each bore some sharp aura, more or less.

More and more people arrived.

Soon, tens of thousands had gathered; most were Foundation Establishment cultivators, some were Jin Dan cultivators, and no Nascent Soul True Persons appeared, or they had concealed themselves.

Jiang Ding casually chose a seat, sat down, and closed his eyes to rest.

In fact, the Nine Union Merchant Guild had offered him a private chamber qualification.

But he did not trust the various arrays and concealment arrangements within, believing that the more superfluous things there were, the more he would expose himself to the Nine Union Merchant Guild's gaze.

As for promises of reputation and the like, the Nine Union Merchant Guild, which must rely on others for its very survival, was likely incapable of fulfilling anything.

"Boom!"

"Fellow Daoists, I am Long Nianzhi. This underground auction will be hosted by me... the rules..."

Several hours later,

a refined old man appeared on the stone platform. With peak Jin Dan cultivation, he introduced himself with a kindly expression.

This was the custom; immediately after, the auction officially began.

"The first item: the Bone-Flesh Reunion Pill that forms a Jin Dan."

"This object can increase the success rate of forming a Jin Dan by twenty percent."

"The starting price is eighty-two Mei Shang Pin Spirit Stones; third-tier heavenly materials and earthly treasures are also acceptable. If there are Jin Dan-level sword-path cultivator souls, four will suffice. If there are sword intent sword cultivator souls, the owner is willing to add one more Jin Dan as compensation..."

After a brief warm-up, Long Nianzhi shouted loudly.

The first item was, indeed, a demonic path Jin Dan pill, immediately causing a sensation among all the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the venue; the atmosphere instantly heated up, with bidding calls rising and falling.

"I am not happy."

"There are truly many people who should be beaten to death."

Jiang Ding glanced at this pill, which faintly emitted the resentful, poisonous wails of one mother and eighteen children's living souls, for a moment.

Finding it irritating, he simply closed his eyes to rest.

He had no interest in these auction items and quietly waited for time to pass.

At the same time, inside a private chamber.

The dashing and elegant Fufeng True Person scanned the entire auction venue, his gaze carefully sweeping over every person, missing no one, comparing them against the images in his memory to identify them.

(End of this chapter)